Safe



May 13 1924.

1'. M06. AIKEN SAFE Filed Feb. 8, 1923 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 FIGJI.

T. M Gs AIKEN led n. a 1923 v 2 Sheets-Shea; 2

May 13, 1924.

- To all whom it may concern Patented May 13, 1924.

fU-l-"ll TED ST A T-ES A NT OFFICE THOMAS-MGG. AIKEN, OF PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA.

Application filed February 8, 1923. SerialNo. 617,791.

'Be it known that I, THOMAS Mot}, AIKEN, residing at Pittsburgh, in the county of Allegheny and State of! Pennsylvania, a citizen of the United States,have invented or discovered certain new and useful Improvements in Safes, of which improvements the following is a specification.

My invention consists in improvements in the construction of safes. In Letters Pat:

ent of the United States no. 1,440,948,

granted me January 2, 1923, I have described a safe made of symmetrical halves opening and closing on a medial plane. It is with such a safe that my present invention also has to do; specifically, my present invention is embodied in such a safe, so mounted and manipulated that its closed halves meet in a vertical plane and that its opened halves lie withtheir open sides ex posed in horizontal plane. Such a safe I characterize a tub safe.

In the accompanying drawings Fig. I is a View in side elevation of the safe of my present invention when closed; Fig. II is a view of it in end elevation; Fig. III is a viewin side elevation of thesafe when open; FigjIV is a view in plan from above of the safe halves when open; Figs. V and VI are fragmentary views in section, and

! tolarge r scale, illustrating the interengage- II Q ment'of the meetingedges ofwthe safe halves and the lockingmechanism; Fig. VII is a view corresponding to Fig. III, and illustrating a modification in detail.

I The safe halves 1 and 2 are mounted on horizontal axes parallel to their open sides and, parallel therefore to their plane of meeting. They arehinged together along their inner (when open) and lower (when closed) horizontal edges, as indicated at 3.

As shown in Figures .I, II and III, the safehalves 1 .and'2 are carried in a frame 4, being in thisinstance trunnioned in opposite pairs of arms 5 and 6 which swing pivotally in frame 4. It will be seen that the safe-halves of these figures (I-III) as Asbest seen in Fig. II, the trunnions upon which the Stlf6 l1&lVQS are hung in arms 5. and 6 are upon one side prolonged and carry, journalled for-free turning, bearing blocks 7 and 8. These blocks 7' and 8 are cages for containing other parts, presently tobe mentioned; but I here note that they are hollow, and that within the hollow spaces worm gears 12 and 13, integrally borne by the trunnions of the safe halves, may freely turn.

A block 21 carries (or, literallyspeaking, is carried by) a shaft 11 and a rod 14. The shaft and the rod extend in parallelism, one with the other, andothe block carries both. of these parts medially: they extend I from the block to equal distances on either side. The shaft 11 is rotatable in block 21, and worm gear is provided, Whereby'shaft 11. may be rotated in its bearing in block 21, on rotation of a hand crank 15. 11 and rod 14 extend through blocks 7 and 8. The assembly is fully shown in the drawings. There is slidingmovement of blocks 7 and 8 relative to shaftll and rod 14. It will be perceived that blocl s7rand 8, carried by the safe trunnions 6, themselves carry shaft 11 and rod 14 and with them block 21. a

lVit-hin recesses in. blocks 7 and Sand feathered upon shaft 11 and meshing with worm gears 12and 13 are Worms 9 and 10. These worms being feathered to shaft 11 are capable of sliding along the'shaft and Shaft arealso rotatable in unison with the shaft; the worms further are confined within the I shown in Figs. I and III, and it willbe perceived that as the handle 15 is turned and the shaft 11 rotated, now in one direction, now in the other, the safe halves, hinged together as they are at 3, are brought from one to the other of the two positions illustrated. As the safe standing in closed position opens. the right-hand arms6 swing in clockwise direction as there viewed, and the right-hand safe half 2 swings in clockwise direction and the pivot 3 rises. Shortly be fore reaching the position shown in Fig. III the arms 6, which had swung further, recede somewhat, in anti clockwise direction, before the parts come to the ultimate position shown. The safe half on the left simultaneously swings oppositely. The trunnions upon which the safe halves 1 and 2 are hung may be so related with respect to the center of gravity of the halves as to facilitate swinging,so related, for example, as to cause gravity to assist in holding the halves in closed position.

Figure V indicates the interengagement of the opposite faces of the rims of the safe when closed. This interengagement is in zigzag line as is usual for fire-proof structure. The disposition of the particular planes is such as to admit of free swinging in complementary curved paths. The meeting surfaces may be faced with packing material of such nature as may be best suited to the particular service.

The means for' locking the two halves together, when closed, are shown in Figure VI. This is a view in vertical section, showing the meeting edges of the H upper wall of the safe when closed, and

' 16 is shifted oppositely again.

showing in elevation the locking members. These locking members consist of two bars 16 and 17, extending vertically along the side walls of the closed safe. One of them, the bar 17, may conveniently be anchored against any movement independent of the safe half 2 which carries it. The bar 16 is movable longitudinally in the safe half 1 which carries it. Means for shifting bar 16 longitudinally are found in a rotatable shaft 18 provided with a crank arm 19 engaging the member 16, and, externally of thesafe, a handle 20 for rotating the shaft 18. The opposite faces of the bars ,16 and 17 are toothed, and the teeth are so disposed that when the member 16 is in one position the bars will come together, and when, having come together, the bar 16 is shifted, the teeth will interlock, to prevent separation of the safe halves until the bar Of course both bars might be shifted if desired.

In Fig. VII I have shown a modification, in that the safe halves are mounted to rest by rollers 22, 23 upon the horizontal tracks 4 and so resting the safe halves manifestly are free to turn and spread laterally. The trunnions, upon which the rollers are mounted, carry as before integrally the worm gears 12 and 13 and they carry also, journalled to them the blocks 7 and 8 The blocks 7 and 8 are held against turning by engagement of the. rollers 24 with which they are equipped, with. track 4?. Shaft 11" is turned directly by crank 15. lVith this explanation, the operation of the safe as shown in Fig. VII, in opening and closing will, from what has gone'before, be clearly understood.

I claim as my invention:

1. A safe structure including a frame, duplicate complementary safe halves, pivoted together, and serving each as closure for the other, and journalled on parallel horizontal axes in said frame, the said halves so mounted being adapted to be swung from position in which each half closes the other in vertical plane to the position in which both halves lie with their open sides disposed in a common horizontal plane.

2. A safe structure including a frame and duplicate complementary safe halves, pivot ed together, and serving each as closure for the other, and severally mounted for individual rotation and for relative recession and approach in said frame, together with means for turning the safe parts simultaneously and oppositely in such supporting frame. 3. A safe structure including duplicate complementary safe halves, pivoted together, and serving each as closure for the other, and severally trunnioned in swinging arms, said arms in turn being pivoted in a suitable support, together with means for turning the safe parts simultaneously and oppositely upon said swinging arms.

4. A safe structure including duplicate complementary safe halves open each on one side and pivoted one to the other, means for sustaining said safe halves rotatably on horizontal axes parallel one to the other and parallel each to the open side of the safe half, such means permitting of relative recession and approach of the safe halves, and means for imparting to the safe halves two simultaneous movements: one, rotation of the safe halves each on its axis; the other, swinging of each safe half on the pivotal connection between the halves, whereby the safe halves may be moved simultaneously fromo-ne to the other of two alternate position; one, wherein the safe halves, meeting open side to open side, constitute each a closurefor the other; and the other, wherein the open sides of the two safe halves extend in a common horizontal plane.

In a safe structure the combination of a frame including opposite pairs of arms swinging pair by pair upon parallel axes,

safe halves pivoted together and hung for rotation, each in one pair of said arms, and'means for rotating said safe halves simultaneously and oppositely.

6. In a safe structure the combination of duplicate complementary safe halves pivoted togther and mounted for individual rotation and for relative recession and approach in a supporting frame, a pair of blocks axially mounted one upon each of said safe halves and with respect to which by virtue of such mounting said safe halves are rotatable, a rotatable shaft extending through the blocks and with respect to which said blocks are longitudinally movable, and means whereby shaft rotation effects opposite turning of said safe halves with respect to said blocks.

7. In a safe structure the combinationof duplicate complementary safe halves, pivoted together, and having pivoted to them a pair of blocks, arotatable shaft extending through said blocks and with respect to which said blocks are longitudinally mov able, a pair of worms mounted on said shaft rotatable in unison with said shaft and movable longitudinally upon said shaft, one of said worms engaged by each of said blocks and movable in unison with such block longitudinally of said shaft, a worm gear borne by each safe half and meshing each with one of said worms, and means for rotating said shaft.

8. In a safe structure the combination of duplicate complementary safe halves pivoted together and pivoted severally, each in a pair of swinging arms. a rotatable shaft,

and means for causing said safe halves to swing'on said arm in response to shaft rotation.

9. In a safe structure the combination of two pairs of arms swinging in vertical planes on parallel horizontal axes, two safe halves trunnioned on horizontal axes, each in one pair of said arms, and pivoted one to the other, a block journalled upon the axis of each safe half, a rotatable shaft extending through both bearing blocks and means for turning the safe halves in their mounting in the said arms in response to shaft turning.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set vmy hand.

THOMAS MoG. AIKEN, \Vitnesses:

PERCY A. ENGLISH, I FRE-IDA E. WoLFr. 

